Justice Eugene Doherty graduated summa cum laude from the Northern Illinois University School of Law in 1989. After serving as a law clerk to Honorable Philip G. Reinhard at the Illinois Appellate Court, Justice Doherty engaged in a civil litigation practice in Rockford, Illinois. The Illinois Supreme Court appointed him to the 17th Judicial Circuit Court in 2007, a position to which he was elected in 2008 and retained in 2012 and 2020. He served as chief judge of the 17th Circuit from 2018 through 2021. Justice Doherty is the author of a variety of articles in several legal publications including the Illinois Bar Journal, and he has been an instructor at the Illinois Education Conference multiple times. He serves on several Supreme Court Committees, including serving as chair of the e-Business Policy Advisory Board and vice-chair of the COVID-19 Task Force. In 2022, the Illinois Supreme Court assigned him to the Illinois Appellate Court for the Fourth District.